She was 'surprised' by her husband's lewd comments
Melania has defended Donald over a 2005 tape in which he makes lewd comments about women. The president-elect faced allegations of sexual misconduct after he admitted trying to "f***" a married woman and claimed being a TV star meant "you can do anything" to women because they "let you do it".
"Grab them by the p****," he says in the Access Hollywood recording. "You can do anything."
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In her first interview after the tape was released, Melania told CNN she was "surprised" by her husband's language, but claimed he had been "egged on" by NBC host Billy Bush to say "dirty and bad stuff".
"I said to my husband that, you know, the language was inappropriate. It's not acceptable. And I was surprised, because that is not the man that I know," she said.
Melania dismissed the comments as "boy talk", saying: "I accept his apology. I hope the American people will accept it as well. And it was many, many years ago."
Nor would she describe her husband's claims as sexual assault, she said: "No, that's not sexual assault. He didn't say he did it."